After Midnight (discontinued)
by button-pusher
Summary: Skye, the Phantom Thief of Forget-Me-Not Valley could always rely on his undeniable charm and his strange ability to freeze women on the spot. But when he finds a woman immune to both, somehow he himself is thinking more about her than his 'profession'.
1. The Encounter

**I sorta revised this whole chapter. I felt in the original I didn't really keep Claire's personality constant. **

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Work was rough in this town. Both financially and physically exhausting compared to the easily acquired success I found in the town just outside of Forget-Me-Not Valley: Mineral Town. I had mentally debated with myself about whether moving to the valley for the sake of peace was better than the financial benefits I found in Mineral Town and whether I really almost hated this place. My friends visited me often but my heart still felt as if it was chained to my wrist, dragging behind me with the regret I had for moving to the valley. As the stupid young farmer I was, I found myself at the bar more often than usual, unintentionally wasting my money to reduce stress while creating more simutaneously. The many villagers noticed my stress and argued whether I needed either help or just space. Muffy and Griffin took special notice of my horribly tense mood and tried desperately to comfort the 'new girl' with their support and their offers of help.

"You know you can come to us whenever you need help, dear. We're always here for you! Right, Griffin?" Muffy turned her blonde head to the scruffy bartender who simply nodded in response.

"I know, and thank you. Honestly, I am very grateful but...I can't accept it..." I mumbled weakly before hobbling out of the bar stool, leaving the money on the counter and bidding the two farewell. As I turned the handle and disappeared behind the door, the pair looked at one another. I could hear them mumbling blurring words as I pressed my ear to the door.

"You didn't tell her about that, did you?" Griffin asked. Muffy must have shaken her head and sighed in despair.

"She's stressed enough. She shouldn't have to worry about _other_ people too." The barmaid said. I brushed it off quickly since what they were saying was in fact true. Stress was bending me 175 degrees past my limit and when I finally snapped, the hell inside of me would too. I used to be accustomed to these sorts of things, frantically scrambling to gather extra cash just so I could get by with food for both my animals and I. But I suppose that's what you get for running a farm on your own in a place where there's no Goddess to help you.

My thoughts were clouded as I walked slowly away from the bar's entrance only to slam into an unfamiliar face. I took a step back and observed the person's entire profile. Silver hair, aqua eyes, _horrible_ fashion sense.

"My, what do we have here?" A smirk curled his lips and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. His voice coated the crisp silence of the night, soft enough to lull a child to sleep. However, mine pierced the tranquility with a sharp contrast.

"I'm pretty sure you can see what's right in front of you." I shot back, mimicking him and rummaging through my pockets. My lips twisted into an unpleasant scowl, directed at the arrogant thing standing before me. I noticed him eyeing me carefully, focussing on my pockets where my hands could be hiding an unwelcomed surprise. "It's not polite to stare."

"My apologies, my dear maiden. I was just admiring your beauty." The man replied smoothly while bowing slightly. "May I ask why such a lovely maiden is walking alone at this dreadful hour?"

"What's it have to do with you?"

"I'm just implying that it could be dangerous for such a beautiful young woman to be out and about during this time." The man ran a pale hand through his silver hair and met my cold stare with a meaningless gaze.

"You're quite the hypocrite. You're so scrawny, anyone could snap you like a twig." My expression still remained stoic, something I mastered a while back.

"Quite _bold._ You may be right but in all honesty, darling, I'm really the only true threat out here." He flashed his usual smirk and winked flirtatiously in my direction. I think I almost threw up in my mouth a little.

"Are you like a rapist or something?" I raised an eyebrow, coiling away in disgust.

"If I said I was, would you be scared?" He took a step forward, leaning his face uncomfortably close to mine in an attempt to frighten me. Yet, I still held my blank face.

"I'd stab you in the nuts." I retorted. The man instantly stepped back and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Hehe, good thing I am not then." _Sure you aren't._ "Well, I must be off now, my lovely maiden. It's business." He grinned, quickly pinching my cheek before turning to the bar.

"The bar's closing, you should think about getting home." I added with my back turned to the man. _What the hell was he planning?_

"Don't worry, miss, I'm well aware of that." He answered with a chuckle. I stood motionless for a moment before connecting the subtle hints the mysterious man left.

"Wait a minute!" I spun on my heel and marched toward him, catching his attention. "What the hell are you doing?" I snarled.

"I'm sorry, dearest, but I cannot let you get in the way of my business." _Business?_ _Is he some kind of drug dealer or something? _He raised a clenched fist to his chest and furrowed his eyebrows. "CHICK BEAM-FIRE!" There was a faint ray of light shot in my direction which I assumed to be the reflection of the moonlight off his silver bracelet. I ignored it and focussed on his actions. By the time he had finished belting out those words, he turned to the door and was reaching for the handle. I quickly grasped onto his hand.

"What are you saying?" I tilted my head in confusion. "What are you trying to do anyway?" I tried catching his attention which failed so grabbed the man's wrist, preventing him from reaching the door handle. His aquamarine eyes shot back at me, widening in shock as he turned his entire body to face me.

"W-wait, you can move?" He asked me without his usual smooth tone of voice.

"Yeah." I answered slightly confused. As a demonstration, I waved my free hand in several different directions. "Why wouldn't I be able to?"

"What? That doesn't make sense. You _are_ a girl, right? I mean, that's the only reason why it wouldn't work." The man started rambling on, oblivious to what he was actually saying. My jaw dropped as I stared at him, anger swelling in my veins.

"Did you seriously just ask that? Are you some kind of stupid blind rat! You were frickin' hitting on me! And now you're quesitoning if I'm a woman?"

"Prove it! There's no way that it failed!" He growled while grabbing my arm to steady me and pulling at the collar of my shirt to 'see for himself', earning him a strong, firm punch straight to his flawless face. I was quite content with the strength of the direct punch to his cheek. I've always wanted to do that to a guy.

"Yo, watch it! You don't just stick your hand down a girl's shirt and grab her tits! Goddess damn pervert." I bellowed after pulling back my arm and adjusting my shirt once again.

"I'm sorry. You surprised me. I didn't mean to insult such a beautiful _woman_. I hope you can forgive me." The man added while rubbing his bruising cheek.

"You pull down women's shirts when you're surprised?" I raised an eyebrow in disgust then proceeded to shaking my head. "What kind of sick bastard _raised_ you?"

"How can I make this up to you, my fair maiden?" He took my hand gently, raising to his lips. I noticed him stealing a few glances with hopeful eyes. _Did he expect some sort of positive reaction?_

"You could get the hell away from me." I snapped back, snatching my hand away from him. "Otherwise, you can't."

"Oh, but I couldn't stay away from such a lovely young woman. Especially now, since you've become so much more of a mystery to me." His aqua eyes rested upon me, gazing dreamily into mine. _What the hell? _

"Mysteries aren't meant to be figured out." I retorted bitterly.

"Not exactly, but I don't quite understand how you can resist both my charms _and _my magic." The man reached for a lock of hair, twirling it between his fingers. _Charms? What frickin charms? _"I _want_ to figure this mystery out. Even if you're not so willing."

"Yeah, whatever. There's really not much to figure out." I began walking off, avoiding further conversation with the mysterious pervert who still stood outside the bar's door, watching me as I disappeared into the darkness only giving him a simple wave of the hand without a single glance as a farewell. Getting away from that guy was the first thing on my agenda to conclude the long day. Thank the Goddess he didn't follow me. As soon as I was out of his line of sight, I sprinted the rest of the way home, slamming the door shut and sliding down my back until I reached the floor.

"What the hell just happened...?" I muttered to myself, scanning around the plain room. _i just got myself in some deep shit, didn't I?_

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**Please tell me what you think. (And anyone who has read this, please tell me if this chapter is better than the first or has improved at all with the stuff I added and some of the stuff that I changed).**


	2. Second Encounter

**Please tell me what you think. I'm not really sure if it is good or not. **

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The next morning I hardly remembered the mysterious pervert that pulled down my shirt outside the bar and instead focussed on the next long tedious hours of working I would have to endure. Before setting off to the daunting task, I quickly checked the mail and found several colorful envelopes inside. _Odd, I rarely ever get mail_. I gathered the mass of envelopes and reentered the house and placed them on the table. Out of curiousity, I opened one of the letters. It was from my cousin who took on the same occupation as I did-farming-on a distant island somewhere.

_"Just wanted to wish you a happy birthday! I hope everything is going great for you. I haven't heard from you in a while so I hope you'll write back sometime._

_Best of luck, Kevin"_

"I forgot my birthday...?" My neck felt limp causing my head to drop and hit the table hard. "I'm so...pathetic..." _I guess that explains all the missed calls Tuesday...Goddess.__..what was today anyway?_

Even so, I continued working to the late evening hours, tilling soil, planting seeds, watering the seeds, while watering the crops that were currently growing close to harvest. My income would still be minimal even when those crops were ready to harvest and unfortunately it didn't seem reliable enough in the future to successfully manage this place. They took far too long to grow in that crap Tak told me was soil and by then I would have already spent more than what I would earn on food for myself as well as other essentials. It left me exhausted and once again stressed, dragging my logical thoughts to the deepest corner of my mind and taking me to the Goddess Pond where I sprawled out across the lush grass at the edge of the water.

"Way to go, Claire, you planned your entire fall..." I started mumbling. The tranquil silence temporarily allowed me to forget the many difficulties being pelted at me. It was as if the Goddess was trying to calm my nerves and let me once again feel peace. Exhaustion overcame my entire body and sleep eventually swept over me, just leaving the pleasant aroma of the area present. Even in the cold autumn evening air, I felt a warmth nearby that eventually woke me from my nap. My eyes cracked open and saw tacky purple jeans and a black shoe that seemed oddly familiar. I shifted my gaze upward and mouthed a few _choice words._

"Hello, my beauty. I knew that we'd meet again." A smile formed his lips as his hand reached for my head. I immediatedly swatted it away and turned on my side where my back was facing him.

"There's like a population of twenty people here. Of course we were going to meet again, idiot." I spat coldly. I felt him lean over me.

"But in such a romantic place. Just the two of us." He whispered a little too close for my comfort. My hand shot up and struck the man's face before it lowered back to my side. "You won't give up just a little affection to me, will you?" He slurred out in a less-than cool tone of voice.

"Well, you _did_ pulldown my shirt when I first met you." I added, caught in a straight stare at the brush surrounding the pond.

"But you I did apollogize, my beautiful maiden." He spoke calmly and soothingly, coating the silence of the area.

"So I could shoot you in the chest and apologize and we'll be okay?" I spoke in monotone, still watching the bushes. However, my own voice caused me to shudder as it pierced the silence, shattering it completely for a moment. The young man laughed quietly and trying to come up with something to back is arguement but I supposed he gave up. I sighed in annoyance with myself and sat up, still not facing the man as I brushed the dirt from my hair with my fingers.

"Are you leaving already?"

"Yeah." I answered and stood to my feet, brushing off all the dust on my clothes.

"Then may I have the pleasure of knowing the name of such a lovely woman?" _Lovely my ass._

"No, you cannot have _any_ 'pleasure' of any kind from me. Even just knowing my name." I snapped back and continued down the path, trying to ignore the silver-haired man.

"Feisty, I kinda like that in a woman." He grinned deviously, suddenly appearing at my side. I shook my head in disgust and began walking faster. "You truly are a mystery to me, lovely. I would love to get to know you more, miss...?" He still waited for an answer.

"None of your frickin' business." I replied. _What is wrong with this guy?_

"You know, even with that attitude of yours, one day you may just fall in love with me." I rolled my eyes in reponse and continued down the path, growling responses along with a few profanities.

"Good luck with that, prick. I don't even _believe_ in love." I grumbled, speaking truthfully while pushing by the man with my arms crossed and a scowl forming my lips.

"What? Did I just hear that?" The young man stared at me bug-eyed and puzzled. He then placed a finger on his chin appearing as if he was trying to solve a murder case. "Adding to the mystery, eh? Maybe that's why you seem so emotionally deprived. You must be lonely." _That's it. I really hate this guy. _My hand struck the skin of his cheek once again, except with much more force, throwing him in a daze as I stomped the rest of the way home. _What a conceited jerk!_ I thought to myself, shaking him out of my head.

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**I feel like my writing skills are getting worse instead of improving...kinda sucks. **


	3. The Phantom's Note

**Please tell me what you think. I don't mind ths chapter as much...I kinda like it.**

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I fell out of my bed the next morning and banged my forearm on the corner of the nightstand. It stung like a you-know-what for a while but I shook it off and quickly got dressed, grabbing a piece of bread for breakfast to take out with me. Before getting to work, I stared out at the vast empty field that was my farm, sighing in disappointment at the lack of life it seemed to hold. _Shit..._

"What the hell was I thinking?" I mumbled to myself then set off to work. The long hours dragged on to the late afternoon, leaving me with only eggplants to harvest and an embarrassing amount of money pocketed fast . I took a quick break and stepped inside my house, finding a note placed on the table. My dog was still asleep, curled up in a ball on his bed like he often did when I glanced over at him.

_"I shall pay you a visit tonight and help myself to your crops. -The Phantom Thief-"_

"Great..." I thought banging my head against the table. "As if I don't have enough issues already." I glanced outside to peek on my crops which were frankly already half dead. _Why didn't he go to Vesta's Farm? I'm pretty sure you'd start vomiting right after eating mine..._ Whatever, he would get what's coming to him anyway. Night was already approaching fairly quick it seemed and I soon found myself sitting in the center of my fields with my legs folded and the wind gently brushing against me skin. I closed my eyes to enjoy the peace until I could hear light footsteps approaching. My dog lifted his head beside me and began nudging my side with his nose. I opened my eyes and saw that silver-haired man staring down at me wearing that same sly smile as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"What the fu-" _What the hell is this guy doing here? Is _he_ seriously the thief?_

"Hello, beautiful. You look like an angel when you sleep, you know." He smoothed down his hair then inhaled sharply as if he was about to make a speech. "I didn't realize this was your farm. It's lovely, just like yourself." _...what?_

"You know, robbery and sexual harrassment are generally frowned upon in today's society. Stalking isn't too great either." I replied unenthusiastically, rolling my eyes in complete repulse. "And I wasn't sleeping..."

"I apologize for...ahem, sticking my hand down your shirt...that was very rude of me to do." _Really, dipshit, I thought that was a form of greeting people in Europe. _"It was a terrible first impression and very rude of me to do..._that_. I really do apologize." He bowed his head slightly. "And I wouldn't call it stalking...more like _fated enconters_."

"Listen, just take what you're going to take and go. I really don't want to lose much more sleep..." I snapped at him, raising my voice then dropping it down to a whisper. I could feel my face fall and a sigh escaped my chapped lips. "I'm going to fail anyway..." I was grateful he hadn't nitpicked at that last statement and continued with his cheesy replies.

"You're a very brave young lady I must say. Just waiting out here for a thief. He could've been armed and caused harm to you."

"You already told me you were the only thing I had to worry about at _such a late hour like this_." I snarled, catching the man's full attention. "And I can handle you perfectly well."

"Clever. Well, my dear, you are correct. I clearly have no affect on you, even when using my 'Chick Beam' so you may be right. Or you could be wrong. I don't know...but instead of your crops, how about I just steal you for the night? It'll be a night you won't ever forget. And I have yet to find out your beautiful name." He winked.

"Again with the sexual harrassment..." I exhaled sharply in annoyance, hoping he would just vanish from my sight.

"No, no, dear. I didn't mean it like that. Unless you wanted me to of course hehe. I just want to make you happy tonight. I haven't seen a smile charm your beautiful face yet." The man shook his head and laughed while taking a step closer to where I sat. "You are a mysterious woman in my eyes. I like that." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Frankly, I don't care what you like." I stroked my dog's head, calming him down before he began barking, interrupting the sleep of any neighbors.

"At least you're not pretending. I guess you're just naturally my kind of woman." He grinned, knealing down beside me and watching as I pet the small animal curled up next to me.

"What a shame..." I mumbled. I could feel his emerald green stare on me and I lifted my head.

"So what do you say?" The man whispered. "It's not like I'm even _able_ to take advantage of you. Not that I ever would anyway." _I beg to differ. _He stared pleadingly and I eventually sighed and nodded to unfortunately fuel his ego.

"Fine." I groaned. I felt his fingers pinch my chin lightly as he chuckled.

"I knew you couldn't resist my charm." He rose to his feet, offering me his hand in which I (out of stubborness) refused to take. However, the thief forced his fingers to intertwine with mine as he dragged my sitting figure across the field. "So where are we going?"

"I'd rather stay here. And I'd wish you'd stop pulling my damn arm. That hurts you know."

"The language, darling. Don't want that to spoil your image." _Right, I have to live up to the prodigy...arrogant asshole__._ The man plopped down beside me, finally releasing his grip on my hand which I gratefully took back. There was a mound of dirt piling on my side from where he dragged me, cutting up the pant leg of my overalls. _Great, so my clothing was used to till a line of soil half the length of my field..._

"So you're the _Phantom Thief_?

"Yes, but please, call me Skye." His smooth voice filled the air.

"Isn't Skye a girl's name?"

"It can be but mine's short for Skyler." I could see a nervous smile cross his lips before he ran a pale hand through his silver hair.

"Really? I never met a guy named Skyler. In fact, I knew a _girl_ named Skyler. She was pretty nice too. Didn't gossip, didn't _steal_..." I kept my expression blank, watching as the thief sighed.

"We're quite the sassy one, aren't we?" He pinched my chin with a flirty grin on his face.

"Funny, that was my nickname in high school."

"Really?"

"No." His smile faded and the area soon fell silent. I was focussed on the night sky, watching as a few planes passed by. I leaned back on my hands, spreading my legs out in the soil and kicking the pile of dirt that built up beside me into flatter ground. Skye remained quiet as he stared at the stars in admiration. After a few minutes, I felt a hand over mine and turned to nearly clash faces with the thief.

"You know, I never got your name. Or the reason as to why you would ever think love doesn't exist, darling." He whispered, hoping to gain some sort of positive reaction from me. But I spit some mucous fleghm in his face, which instantly caused him to remove his hand and back away from me.

"Goddess, lady! What is wrong with you?" Skye cringed away, wiping the mucus from his face. With a sigh he stood to his feet and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well, I see I'm not welcomed so I'll be off. Good night, fair maiden." He started down the path with his back to me after several glances back with his pitiful eyes.

"I'm Claire." I finally spoke up before he was completely out of my range. A smile spread to his lips, and his head turned to face me one last time.

"What a lovely name. It's wonderful to meet you, Claire. I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other much more often. It's in the stars."

"Yeah, of course you do." And he drifted away into the night.

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**I just love cynical protagonists haha. **


	4. First Day of Winter

**I don't like this chapter too much. I fell like toward the end it kinda just died. I might fix it up later. But usually when I say that, I don't so...who knows?**

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It was the dawn of the first day of winter and the grey clouds above were already showing signs of an accumulation of snow overnight. There was a draft coming in through the window beside my bed that chilled the entire house but still felt rather pleasant while lying under the covers. I was anxious to spread the pine and apple scented candles across the house to light while I was relaxing inside, basking in the warmth of my own home. When I was younger, I loved winter more than any other season for its almost desolate serenity and its natural beauty. The air was so crisp and clean to breath in and the comforting tranquility that always made it easier to sleep at night. It was a time to start fresh and focus on family and friends as well as romances if you had one.

But as a farmer, you start to dread the arrival of winter and the lack of life since it can no longer flourish in such harsh conitions. It's a time to live off of your own savings and work around the weather just to make a profit. As depressing as it was, I too began to dread this winter's return. Considering ths situation I was currently in, I would have to resort to mining which was almost just a game of luck in a sense. Which meant I was screwed.

I stretched my hands over my head, cracking one of my shoulders and hesitantly crawled out of bed. The house was already cold and I would have to start donning heavier clothing which was really only a thin sweatshirt and leggings under my overalls. Didn't do much (especially since I now had holes in overalls from a certain asshole) but considering it was the only thing I really had that could count as winter clothing, it would have to do. And I didn't look as ridiculous as I sounded but really, it's just work so it didn't matter anyway. I quickly took care of the cows, brushing each gently and feeding them then finished with chickens, crating the eggs and spreading the feed out for them. Afterwards, I made a beeline straight for the mines, waving a modest 'hello' to both Carter and Flora as I passed.

I spent hours working away at the mines, not finding much but still rather content with the money that could be pocketed from what I unearthed. Night had fallen over the valley quicker than I expected and I decided to pay a visit to the beach. I noticed Gustafa sitting in the sand while strumming his guitar and still wearing his usual smile. Reluctantly, I took a seat beside him, shooting him a puzzled look to which he only shrugged.

"Hey, Claire, what've you been up to?" He asked politely.

"Mining..." I replied weakly. "What are you doing out here? It's getting sorta late, isn't it?" The hippie was still strumming the strings of his guitar, humming pleasantly. _How is he happy all the time?_

"I was looking for Nami. I asked her if she'd meet me out here ealier today but I guess she forgot." I nodded, not exactly sure how to respond. _This guy just doesn't get the hint... _"You look a little down, what's up?" I shrugged my shoulders, shifting my gaze to the ocean momentarily. "Well, if you ever need to talk to someone, you know where to find me." I didn't really spend that much time around Gustafa, but he really was a sweet guy, despite being somewhat strange and not necessarily attractive. He was always there to help, never to pity like most do during difficult times. As selfish as it sounds, that's probably the only reason I really bother talking to the guy when I actually do talk to him. Otherwise he usually blurts out some pretty strange things. I always wondered why Nami would tend to avoid him but I suppose that's the reason why.

"Thanks, but I better get going now." I mentioned to him, standing to my feet and brushing the sand off my clothing.

"See ya later." He grinned. I waved him off and started for the path home only to see the familiar silver-haired asshole that tried to rob me the day before. He waved flirtatiously in my direction which I pretended to not notice and still continued walking.

"Still walking alone at night, beautiful?" He finally asked, placing a cold hand on my shoulder. I glanced back at him with a blank expression and turned away.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you. You blend in so well with the snow." My voice was soft, and soothing in the silence of the night for once.

"Well, then it was a good thing I called to you." A smirk spread across the thief's lips and his finger began tracing my jawline seducitvely.

"I would have noticed you eventually. No one could miss those bright purple jeans of yours." My tone was slightly harsher than before and I walked out of the man's reach at my own pace which the man easily caught up to, stroking my hair and whispering things in my ears. _This guy has had to have raped some women in the past..._ "Sexual harrassment." I reminded him to which he only chuckled and took his hand back.

"You have a very dry sense of humor, don't you beautiful?"

"Now that you mention it, I'm pretty wet actually." I stated as if it was nothing. He froze in his place, raising an eyebrow as a light blush spread across his cheeks. _Perverted bastard._

"Wait, what?"

"Hmm, what?"

"Cute and clever. That's exactly what I'm looking for." He proclaimed, wrapping an arm around me and smiling deviously. I pushed his arm off and sighed.

"Well, good luck with your searching." He laughed again. Suddenly I could feel his hand gripping my shoulders gently as he walked behind me, matching my pace.

"You're really a funny girl, aren't you?" He giggled slightly, almost like a school-girl giggled which almost surprised me.

"You sound like an idiot."

"Well, I'm hardly an idiot. Although, maybe compared to your apparent intelligence I am a mere idiot. But I do have a few tricks up my sleeve." The thief's grin spread across his lips, stretching from ear-to-ear as he continued to walk behind me with an uncomfortable proximity. He was looming over my head, watching my facial expressions which remained void of emotions hoping that the guy would realize I had no interest in him.

"Are you going to like pull a bouquet of flowers out of your ass or something?" I raised an eyebrow slightly, still frowning in disgust. He laughed, gripping my shoulders tighter.

"No, dear." He responded, still smiling.

"Can you go or something? I'm tired and I would like to go home without someone hovering over me the entire walk."

"All right, beautiful." The thief sighed slightly as if he was disappointed but shrugged it off. I shook from his grip and didn't bother to look back at the man. Once I had arrived at my farm, I checked my surroundings to see if the man had followed me then went inside, plopping down on my bed, desperately needing to relax. _I seriously need to get that pervert out of my life._

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**Please tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is welcomed too!**


	5. Winter Fishing

**This chapter is sorta short. Sorry. **

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The house was freezing when I woke up the next morning. I sprang out of bed, tearing through my closet in search of warmer clothes than the pathetic sweatshirt and overalls I had the previous day. Eventually, in the deepest darkest corner of my closet, I found an old olive green turtle neck sweater that had a musty scent to it. _Surprised those damn moths didn't get to this..._ It was thick and the yarn used to knit the plain sweater was soft, not itchy as I had expected considering this was most likely one of my grandfather's possessions. I slipped the shirt on, turning to my overalls which were thrown on the floor beside my bed. The tear in them was extremely noticable and seemingly growing with each wearing day. Instead of ruining it to the point of being impossible to ever mend, I grabbed a pair of baggy sweatpants and some boots to cover my lower half. I only had the animals to care for then I could set off to the beach to go fishing in the tranquil solitude of this lifeless season.

I headed down the path south to the beach, passing Gustafa's yurt to find him leaning against a tree strumming his guitar in the snow and waving in my direction. I gave him a courteous nod, continuing to the beach with my fishing rod in hand. While I was there, I saw Nami wandering around and enjoying her own solitude as she kicked at the snow that was masking most of the sand. I wonder if she ever met with Gustafa yesterday or she just blew him off. Either way, the hippie always seemed happy so you could never tell anyway.

Those kind of things were always so confusing in my mind. The whole concept of falling in love and getting your heart broken was so complicated to me but I never actually felt that way before so I suppose I was clueless in a sense. But I never felt it anyway, nor did I believe it. Or at least I didn't believe it was something magical and all powerful like some people describe it as. Usually people fall out of _love _within a year or so. Therefore I assumed it was just some trick that our brains pull on us to continue the species. Even though people would still be willing to do _that_ whether they _loved _someone or not. _It was a survival trick through chemical illusions made by the brain_. Unfortunately, most of the world's population believed those tricks and even so, there was nothing more I could do than just encourage them to follow that trick. But all that also meant I would never be able to show any sort of empathy toward Gustafa whether he truly was heartbroken and faking happiness or not. Or anyone for that matter.

"Hey, Nami!" I called to the redhead, who glanced in my direction with her usual bored glint in her eyes. She didn't seem rather pleased to see me but still approached me with a bag slung over her shoulder lazily.

"What's up?"

"Gustafa was looking for you yesterday...did you see him?" I asked nonchalantly. The redheaded woman remained stoic as she shook her head and began walking away once again.

"I didn't." She drifted off, kicking at the snow more as she continued down the length of the beach. _Bitch._ I sighed but refocussed on my fishing instead, hoping to catch dinner tomorrow night as well as something I could use for profit. The day rolled by quickly and darkness was already crawling over the valley. I grabbed my catchings and traveled up the path to my farm, passing by Gustafa's yurt and the library again. As I neared my farm, I could hear a loud shriek from Romana's Mansion that sounded like it belonged to Lumina, the yong heiress to her grandmother's wealth. I comtemplated whether or not I should see what was going on but it was getting late and I knew Takakura would be on my ass if I didn't hurry up and get home. I was almost at my farm when I saw a familiar bob of silver hair pass by me, halting when he realized who I was.

"It's awfully late, beautiful. You shouldn't be out now." His smooth voice filled the silence and he finally spun around with a smirk pastered to his lips and a black bag thrown over his back.

"I thought we already went over this...like three times already..." I shot back with my usual unenthusiastic expression. He chuckled, taking a step closer to me.

"What do you have there?" He asked, eyeing my bag filled with all my catchings for the day.

"Cow shit." I retorted blankly, staring him straight in the eyes with my own half-lidded. His features scrunched into an unpleasant look of disgust before quickly replacing it with his signature smirk.

"Careful with the language, my dear. You don't want to taint your lovely image, right?" The thief grinned, winking flirtatiously at me.

"No." I deadpanned, to which the man shrugged his shoulders and ruffled my hair.

"Why no overalls today, lovely?" His smirk cracked into a mischievious grin as he examined my face carefully.

"Some guy dragged me across my field and they ripped the pantleg." He only laughed in response and ruffled my hair even more.

"My apologies. But I must say, you look lovely tonight." The thief admitted, flashing me a warm smile and hanging around my face too close for comfort. "The moon is shining down on-"

"You smell like cat piss." I interrupted. It wasn't _that _much of a lie. As I inhaled more of his scent while he scratched the back of his head, I picked up a hint of what smelled like curry or some kind of spicy food. He shrugged my comment off and finally backed away from my face.

"Well, I'm a bit pressed for time right now. I got to jet. We'll meet again soon." _Of course we will..._ "Till then," He didn't remove his hand from my head as he placed a chaste kiss on the top of my head before springing back so I couldn't hit him. "Farewell, beautiful."

"I have lice." I lied while still staring at him straight in his widening eyes as he tried to nonchalantly wipe his lips with his hand before sprinting off toward Vesta's farm. _What a hopeless asshole..._

* * *

**Please tell me what you think. Gah! I almost forgot this! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed by the way! I appreciate it!**

**And I did my research (I found a map of Forget-Me-Not Valley in Harvest Moon DS Cute) so I could add mroe detail. Thanks for the tip harvestmoonlovee!**


	6. Author's Note: Rewrite?

**I was thinking about rewriting this story. I hate how short the chapters are and I just had a flood of ideas so I'm trying to pack everything in. Of course Claire will still be her usual snarky and sarcastic self and most of the dialogue will stay the same (I might add more if I can) but I feel the story isn't getting anywhere. It's almost like drabbles...or that's just me. I also feel like some parts don't flow as well. There's a lot I could improve on and I really like the plot I had planned out for this story so I wouldn't want to just throw it aside. **

**There's so much more I want to add and I don't want it to get confusing for people or make it so they have to reread chapters (cause they aren't that interesting to be rereadable...). If people like the way this is going on its own, I'll think about just leaving it but I would really like to revise it. Any tips and other thoughts would be nice! **


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